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Research Project
PROSumers for the Energy Union: mainstreaming active participation of citizens in the energy transition
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Thinking, doing, organising: Prefiguring just and sustainable energy systems via collective prosumer ecosystems in Europe
Publication . Wittmayer, Julia M.; Campos, Ines; Avelino, Flor; Brown, Donal; Doračić, Borna; Fraaije, Maria; Gährs, Swantje; Hinsch, Arthur; Assalini, Silvia; Becker, Timon; Marín-González, Esther; Holstenkamp, Lars; Bedoić, Robert; Duić, Neven; Oxenaar, Sem; Pukšec, Tomislav
This article positions collective renewable energy prosumerism as a social movement that engages in energy system transformation. Collective renewable energy prosumer initiatives engage in ‘prefigurative’ work through their discursive framings (ways of thinking), their activities (ways of doing) and their understanding and enactment of social relations (ways of organising). The core of this article is a comparative analysis of the prefigurative work of 13 collective prosumers from 7 European countries (Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, United Kingdom). The article discusses their contributions to energy system transformation, including renewable energy production, different mechanisms for involving citizens, local value creation, and the degree of desired and actual collaboration and networking within broader prosumer ecosystems. We then discuss these contributions against societal discourses and expectations towards prosumerism, such as energy democracy, energy justice, and environmental sustainability and decarbonisation. This reveals three tensions: 1) a focus on decarbonisation but not on broader environmental problems, 2) the involvement of certain people and not of others, and 3) the building of prosumer eco-systems while ignoring incumbency. Future research avenues are formulated to conclude the article
Pluralising the European energy landscape: Collective renewable energy prosumers and the EU's clean energy vision
Publication . Horstink, Lanka; Wittmayer, Julia M; Ng, Kiat
To fulfil the European Union's (EU) goal of providing ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans', a transformative shift from centralised, fossil-fuel based systems to decentralised systems based on renewable energy sources (RES) is envisaged. Keen to lead the clean energy transition while embedding technological innovation and elements of justice and equitability into the envisioned ‘Energy Union’, EU Member States need their citizens on board as active participants. Prosumerism or self-consumption is an important part of this citizen involvement. While the new EU regulatory framework for energy now recognises civic-inspired prosumer initiatives such as energy communities, little is known about the full range and diversity of collective actors in renewable energy self-consumption as well as how they engage with the changing energy system. This paper presents an exploratory categorisation of the different collective social actors that produce and consume energy from renewable sources, referred to as ‘collective RES prosumers’, aiming to clarify their participation in the energy landscape. We find six categories with different engagement and needs, which we relate to the EU's current framing of collective energy actors. We recommend fine-tuning policies to the different actors to support a true-to-vision transposition of the recently completed Clean Energy Package (CEP).
Renewable Energy Prosumers in Mediterranean Viticulture Social–Ecological Systems
Publication . Campos, Ines; Marín-González, Esther; Luz, Guilherme; Barroso, João; Oliveira, Nuno
People in transitions: Energy citizenship, prosumerism and social movements in Europe
Publication . Campos, Ines; Marín-González, Esther
Active energy citizens are leading energy transitions, co-producing new cultures, practices and structures of production and consumption. This article aims to understand if prosumerism – the collective participation of prosumers in energy projects with social, economic and environmental benefits to society – can be referred to as a social movement. The article draws on a review of Social Movements Theory and applies thematic analysis to characterize 46 prosumer initiatives in Europe. The collective identities, socio-political opponents, knowledge-making activities, collective learning, and collective action aspects of these prosumers are described. The results show that prosumer initiatives converge towards a transformative social movement. This movement upholds decentralized renewable energy production and consumption, and presents itself as a socially inclusive, transparent and participatory energy model, replicable across the globe, in what can be described as a collective action towards a decentralized democratic energy model. The discussion highlights relationships between prosumerism and framings such as energy justice (including energy poverty and gender issues), energy democracy, climate change action and anti-nuclear movements, to reach a conclusion considering the relevance of calling prosumerism a social movement, while opening up some avenues for future research.
Modeling Energy Communities with Collective Photovoltaic Self-Consumption: Synergies between a Small City and a Winery in Portugal
Publication . Pontes Luz, Guilherme; Amaro E Silva, Rodrigo
The recently approved regulation on Energy Communities in Europe is paving the way for
new collective forms of energy consumption and production, mainly based on photovoltaics. However,
energy modeling approaches that can adequately evaluate the impact of these new regulations
on energy community configurations are still lacking, particularly with regards to the grid tariffs
imposed on collective systems. Thus, the present work models three different energy community
configurations sustained on collective photovoltaics self-consumption for a small city in southern
Portugal. This energy community, which integrates the city consumers and a local winery, was
modeled using the Python-based Calliope framework. Using real electricity demand data from
power transformers and an actual winery, the techno-economic feasibility of each configuration
was assessed. Results show that all collective arrangements can promote a higher penetration of
photovoltaic capacity (up to 23%) and a modest reduction in the overall cost of electricity (up to 8%).
However, there are clear trade-offs between the different pathways: more centralized configurations
have 53% lower installation costs but are more sensitive to grid use costs (which can represent up to
74% of the total system costs). Moreover, key actor’s individual self-consumption rate may decrease
by 10% in order to benefit the energy community as a whole.
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Funding agency
European Commission
Funding programme
H2020
Funding Award Number
764056